Visit Rwanda Arsenal Deal Comes to An End

About eight years ago, one of the smallest countries on the African continent, Rwanda landed a deal with Arsenal football club to advertise on the jersey sleeves with a tagline; “Visit Rwanda”. The move was received with mixed reactions and all the arguments are quite subjective. The fact in this matter is that the country boosted its tourism and it even raised its gorilla trekking fees to $1500 per permit to watch the gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes Park.

Over the past 8 years, the country grew in popularity and it has positioned itself among the best luxury destinations on the African continent. It is also ranked among the most secure countries on the African continent.

However, besides the positive stories, there are quite a number of scandals that have marred the image of Rwanda. The Rwanda asylum deal with the UK is one of the controversial stories that have been in the news for long. Before all this, Rwanda was the ideal country to deal with on anything be it sports marketing, holiday and many other things.

The UK-Rwanda asylum deal fetched for Rwanda more than $280 million for a deal that never kicked off and whose money was not refunded. Even though many have talked about the Asylum matter; the money issue was never at the spotlight. It was mainly about human rights.

It was from this period of the Asylum deal that the M23 war resurfaced. Any country can be involved in wars. For instance, the United States of America in partnership with Israel attacked Iran and killed people but this cannot come into the same scrutiny because it is America that did it.

If we are to look into the case of the M23, it is a very complex matter that is not merely about Rwanda. There are many players so much of which are international but they cannot further the agenda that the media wishes to push. Rwanda is currently accused of security tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are accused of supporting the M23.

With all these stories making rounds on the internet, a survey was done by Arsenal to ask the fans whether they would wish to see the deal of “Visit Rwanda” continue something that is quite weird. It is the first of its kind. Other sponsors have not come under similar public votes, probably it will be the new trend, though highly doubt-able.

According to the athletic, the survey results showed that more than 90% of the fans didn’t want the “Visit Rwanda” deal to continue. More than 60% wanted it to be terminated as soon as possible. The main reasons cited was Rwanda’s involvement with the M23.

When you consider the whole story, it has no difference with the gender mob of the recent past. People who do not have facts of the matter voting and influencing decisions on matters they are not experts. This perfectly fits with president Kagame’s rhetoric; “who assigned the west the duty of being the moral standard of the whole world?”

With the deal coming to an end in 2026, Rwanda is believed to have invested about $30 million though some claim it is around $100 for the 8-year deal. Regardless of the case, Rwanda has been able to make some good business through their partnership with Arsenal and on top of that, they were also able to get more than $250 from the UK government.

The Rwanda Development Board is yet to announce their next move after the end of the partnership. The most anticipated trend is to remove betting companies from jerseys. The moral standard of betting has not yet kicked in but it is simply a matter of time but once the public is incited against the same, there are likely new sponsors to arise.

The people who love democracy, are sponsored by Fly Emirates but they are quiet about the none democratic nature of their sponsors. The end of the deal is not merely against Rwanda but also people who have nothing to do with the claims raised against Rwanda.

In all this, gorilla trekking remains one of the leading safari activities on the African continent. It was Rwanda’s flagship safari activity and even today it remains the leading African holiday excursion. The beauty in all this, Rwanda has remained one of the safest countries on the African continent and because of this, many people still look forward to visiting Rwanda.

The termination does not only affect Rwanda. It affects Uganda too. Part of Uganda’s gorilla trekking has been riding on the expensive Rwanda gorilla trekking permit. What if Rwanda chooses to lower its gorilla trekking permit a little beat or offer discounts; there is a huge likelihood it will affect Uganda’s gorilla trekking numbers.

With Arsenal terminating the deal, there is a likelihood the Bayern Munich and PSG “Visit Rwanda” deals will be called off too in the near future. These are often common occurrences in the international scandals. We can only wait to see how Rwanda goes around all these things and continue to be respected country on the African continent.